As part of AER’s information cycle on European funding, this event which took place on September 18th, welcomed representatives from DG Research and Innovation, DG Regio, DG Markt and the European Investment Fund to present the different opportunities to develop social entrepreneurship in Europe’s regions.

Participants learnt more about how the European Structural and Investment funds’ priorities will help strengthen the capacity of social entrepreneurs in the early stages of their businesses, whilst the Horizon 2020 programme will support social entrepreneurs in scaling up their businesses.

Different synergies between these two programmes have also been established to maximise project results. The Social Business Initiative and the Social Impact Accelerator were also presented, initiatives that have been set up to facilitate social entrepreneurs’ access to finance.